#222 - Israeli Olympic Medalist (Arik Zeevi)

Israel is a pretty small country. Just about 9 million. But for our size, we pack quite a punch. Everybody knows the ol’ Nobel Laureate spiel - Israelis have won a whopping 12 since 1966 and that’s crazy for a country of our size. It seems like we got the brains. But what about the muscle? Unlike the USA, Russia and China, we don’t have the resources to nurture younglings from an early age on their journey to become the best athletes in their field. This is why we never particularly excelled at the Olympics. There are, however, a few fields of sports in which we are really good at. Surfing and sea sports is one of them, and Judo is another. Out of 9 Olympic medals Israel has gotten in the Olympics throughout the years, 5 were in the field of Judo. Yael Arad was the pioneer, when she brought us the Silver medal in 1992, and became the first ever Israeli to win an Olympic Medal. More than a decade later, in 2004, Arik Zeevi won the Bronze medal, and made history. Since then, Arik has been inspiring generations of Martial Artists, in Israel and throughout the world. So without further ado, 2NJB are proud to have our first ever Olympic Medalist, ladies and gentlemen - Mr. Arik Zeevi.